pumpkinstrokemarrow

The small size, 20 side, leaflet tells us what the changes mean for us. The big size, 36 side, leaflet tells us about changes in the terms and conditions of bank accounts. The economy size, 44 side, leaflet tells us about changes in the terms and conditions of savings accounts. The small size leaflet, presumably directed at those of us who can't manage the other two, comes complete with two colour pictures of smiling customers with smiling advisers from their friendly bank. The cost of all this must be a pound or so for every customer. A million pounds or so in total. And how many of these things are going to get read? Ours won't.

Presumably there is some rule somewhere which not unreasonably directs such outfits to provide full information about changes to customers. But perhaps it would be more sensible if the full information was sent to the chap who wrote the rule, who could then be tasked with reading the full information and, if really necessary, passing on a suitable digest to the rest of us. Or placing a suitable advertisement on page 3 of a certain newspaper. Or having a full and frank exchange with the bank if he found the full information was either un-full or otherwise un-satisfactory.

And then there was a rather different, rather lower tech. communication from the Surrey Chapter of the neighbourhood watch. There was a not very posh form letter, cheaply photocopied and complete with name, rank, telephone number and email address of the sender. But not the actual, bricks and mortar address, just the box number for the Surrey Police. Plus a form to fill in if either of us wanted to be an active citizen. All in a hand addressed envelope which had been franked with a Reigate police postcode for 25p. Then we come to the odd bit. A stamped envelope addressed to Epsom Police Station. Stamped with a real, 2nd class stamp of the sort that you or I might use. So why do they frank the outer envelope but stamp the inner envelope? Closer inspection of the stamp reveals two small cartouches stamped onto the stamp. The idea being, I think, that if you try to get the stamp off the Police envelope and use it for your own purposes, the two cartouches get left behind and you are left with a stamp with two holes which is not valid for your purposes. All very cunning. Is this linked to a deal between the Police and the Post Office which gives the Police a discount on stamps used for pre-paid reply purposes? The Police could say that only 17% of them get returned and so it is reasonable that they only pay 25% (say) of the cover price.

Would we be more or less impressed if the Police did a slicker job on all this? Would we be pleased with a higher standard of communication or cross that the Police were spending all our grudgingly paid tax money on fancy administration and touchy-feely stuff, rather than getting out onto the streets and banging up crims.?